Indian shares opened lower on Wednesday as uncertainty over a U.S.-Iran peace deal kept
investors risk-averse, while higher oil prices and persistent
foreign outflows also weighed on sentiment.
Gulf hostilities flared anew, with the U.S. military saying
Iranian missile attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional
targets either were thwarted or unsuccessful, as diplomacy
between Washington and Tehran showed little progress.
The benchmark Nifty 50 was down 0.29% at 23,415.95,
while the BSE Sensex lost 0.22% to 74,484.68, as of
9:15 a.m. IST. Brent crude rose about 1% to $97 per
barrel.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors traded lower. The broader
small-caps and mid-caps were little
changed.
IT stocks fell 1.8%, led by more than 2% fall
each in Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys
as global software stocks dropped on profit-booking following a
recent rally. The sub-index had risen 7% in the last two
sessions.